This invention relates generally to supply chain management of outsourced goods, and more particularly, this invention relates to a method and system for facilitating production changes and end-of-life requests among supply chain partners in a multi-enterprise environment via a networked system.
With the advent of the Internet and related technologies, complex networking systems have evolved that enable distant trading partners operating disparate computer systems to interact with one another. The Internet provides a ubiquitous message routing architecture that supports reliable inter-business connectivity around the world, based on common communication protocols and common standards for system interoperability. Further, the Internet and related intranet and extranet technologies offer a relatively low cost of entry, making them practical for use by large and small businesses alike. Web-based security issues have been minimized through the use of intranets that connect a business"" internal processes to the applications and data they need and extranets that connect external processes to the applications and data they need. Firewalls or security devices are added to protect against unauthorized access to the internal network and to isolate unauthorized Internet access from the extranet. With this new technology in place, existing trading barriers between trading partners can be removed, allowing for a synchronized flow of information.
A recent trend in electronics manufacturing involves contracting out some or all of the manufacturing of a company""s products to third party manufacturers which then build these products according to specification. This arrangement, known as outsourcing, results where the original manufacturer (called an Original Equipment Manufacturer, or OEM) buys assemblies in bulk from third-party contract manufacturers and then customizes them for a particular application. It then markets and sells the customized equipment under its own name. By outsourcing the manufacturing and assembly of these goods, established OEMs are able to focus on other business areas such as new product development and customer relationship management. Additionally, as product designs and components are becoming increasingly complex and frequently updated, a contract manufacturer with specialized skills may be better equipped to accommodate the changing technology. By outsourcing to meet peak demands, an OEM may be able to avoid having to build new facilities and/or hire new people.
An OEM who is outsourcing the manufacturing of its products needs to be able to collaborate with its supply chain partners before, during, and after the manufacturing cycle in order to achieve maximum efficiency of the production process. One area of collaboration is the production change processes including process/product change notifications and end-of-life requests. Product or process change notifications (PCNs) are documents that supply chain partners send to an OEM to notify the OEM that either something in the devices under production is changing or a production process technique is changing which may trigger the need to re-qualify a device or process. The re-qualification process tests the new changes to ensure compatibility with larger assemblies or final products for which the devices will be incorporated. End-of-Life (EOL) requests are documents submitted by a supplier who has information about a product or material that has been, or is expected to be, purchased by the OEM or authorized manufacturer and will no longer be available for purchase. This gives the OEM advance warning that a change in production or process may become necessary in the future and that decisions regarding alternative processes or materials must be made. Numerous such notices are received by a typical OEM every year, often in a haphazard fashion, such as memorandums, e-mail, telephone conversations, and so on. For an OEM who has facilities all over the world, this unsystematic method of notification may result in a PCN being mis-delivered, or perhaps not received by the appropriate individuals at all. Various geographically dispersed facilities of an OEM may be involved with a program or manufacturing plan that is affected by the PCN, making it increasing difficult to organize and track the flow of information from facility to facility. If one or more divisions or facilities of an OEM does not receive the PCN data, its manufacturing processes can become significantly hampered causing production delays and increased associated manufacturing costs. It is therefore desirable to provide a method and system that facilitates the PCN/EOL processes so that the PCN information can be properly and quickly delivered to all involved sites and related locations of the OEM and production processes can be streamlined.
An exemplary embodiment of the invention relates to a computer-based method and system for facilitating production changes in an extended enterprise via a network environment. The system includes a manufacturing enterprise system comprising a host system operating a web server, an applications server, and a database manager; a data storage device in communication with the host system, and at least one terminal for accessing the host system. The manufacturing enterprise system runs on a network that is coupled to the Internet and is accessible to an outside enterprise or trading partner identified with having proper access permissions. The applications server executes a set of programs for managing the manufacturing enterprise system, including the process and product change notification application of the present invention. PCN notices and EOL requests are inputted into the manufacturing enterprise system via the process and product change notification application where required data are supplied, destination resources of affected parties are determined and decisions are calculated according to these inputs.